But it could win them more local elections, and then we get fuckery like what’s happening in Florida and Texas all up in our business.

Local elections matter too, and often more, than national ones.

See, this disingenuous argument works better when you just generalize it, because when you get into specifics it looks very different. Example:

Step 1: label the people that hold the belief that ‘trans people are subhuman trash that need to be excised from society by violence if necessary’ as intolerant

Step 2: skip diplomacy because they refuse to engage in actual conversation

Step 3: use force on them because they are actually attacking trans people.

Although really even parts 2 & 3 are disingenuous, because there are plenty of examples of people trying to engage the intolerant in debate, far beyond what would really be reasonable even. And you’ll also notice that force is rarely, if ever, used against those intolerant folks either, even as they use force, even deadly force.

Hell, even the law won’t do more than slap their wrists in many cases. I use trans people as an example because until recently, ‘I went on a date with this lady and then found out she was trans, and I was so shocked I killed her’ was an actual legitimate legal defense and several people used it. If we’re being pedantic, that defense is still perfectly acceptable at the national level, as several bills banning it have been introduced, but none have been passed.

It depends in part on male vs female; male rats and mice mark territory (and sometimes even their favorite walking paths, so beware if you let them roam) with urine. Back when I kept rats and mice, the female cages would always smell better than the male cages, no matter what I did.

Now I keep pythons, and both male and female cages don’t stink lol. I have to admit that the smell is the biggest thing I don’t miss about having pet rodents.

21 out of 24

That was kinda fun

‘Tell him we will pray for him.’

‘He needs your prayers.’

‘Is he, then, an unhappy man?’

Poirot said, ‘So unhappy that he has forgotten what happiness means. So unhappy that he does not know he is unhappy.’

The nun said softly, ‘Ah, a rich man…’

Poirot said nothing—for he knew there was nothing to say…

Hey, at least you’re listening and giving it serious thought. That’s better than some people.

According to the CDC, 1 in 3 women in the US have been victims of sexual harassment or assault. And honestly, given how underreported those sorts of stats are, it’s probably higher.

Another hypothetical question was posed to women a while ago: if all the men on the planet got whisked away (not killed, just sent to an awesome men-only vacation planet or something) for 48 hours, what would you do?

The answers were overwhelmingly things like ‘go for a walk at night’, ‘take a jog with my earbuds in’, ‘go to the gym’…

Some people need a very structured, simple, well-defined worldview in order to function. Sort of like a computer has to follow a set program or it bluescreens.

‘This person coming towards me is a man. I can tell by his bowler hat and dapper suit. Therefore the correct action is to say ‘good morning sir, nice weather today’.’ And ‘This person coming towards me is a woman. I can tell by her dress and long hair and makeup. She is married based on the ring I see. Therefore the correct action is to say ‘good morning, ma’am, nice weather today’.’

And so on.

A person not presenting clearly as either gender, or isn’t the gender they’re expecting, means the ‘script’ no longer works. They no longer feel sure of what to do, and that lack of control of the situation makes them panicked.

Really, a lot of this, and conservatism in general, comes down to simple structure and control, so these people feel they always know what to do and where they stand.

Because our society is a social contract, and to act wrongly means you get ostracized from society. In ancient times that was practically a death sentence, and I don’t think these folks have ever gotten over that. They fear becoming the ‘outsiders’, left to the wolves and lions.

My dad worked for AAA. Once he got a call because a lady’s car errored out and thought she didn’t have her seatbelt buckled mid-drive, so it shut the engine off. On the freeway.

Even without a subscription, failsafes should always fail safe.

You mean how to tell the Fey from humans? That’s just old lore. Like one of the ways to see if someone was fey was to scatter flour on the ground; they’d often have reversed feet, or bird tracks, or hoofprints instead of regular footprints.

Ball pythons are derp noodles, not nope ropes.